Tuesday, September 25, 2012

terrible 10

I took about 10 days off from running following my last race. This was kind of by accident. I meant to take a few days off to recover, but then life got in the way!

So after 10 days off, I thought I should try to run 10k today. PROBABLY not the best idea.

So my terrible run all started last night when I returned home from the gym and couldn't find my iPod touch. I really couldn't imagine it being stolen as it was within view at all times while I was working with my trainer. Also, I remembered it being in my pocket as I walked to my car. Regardless, it was missing. All was not lost though, as I had my older nano which I used for my run today.

So despite the lost Ipod, I tried to pump myself up by dancing around my room a bit before heading out. I was looking forward to the route I had mapped (I use map my run) as it incorporated running in the woods as well as running through campus.

It was a gorgeous day... clear sunny skies, great temperature with a medium breeze. LOVED IT.

And then, about 2 minutes into my run it hit me:

"this sucks"

"why is this so hard?"

"i want to stop"

"my legs are sore"

"i should probably stop"

"i have so much farther to go"

etc etc etc

After what felt like a lifetime I did complete the 10k. I estimate that I ran about 7.5k and walked the rest. It really wasn't a terrible run but the constant mental block made it feel insanely difficult! It was a huge reminder that so much of running is mental.

I found this article on runner's world that talks about overcoming those horrible mental blocks. I'm going to try to incorporate some of their suggestions into my next run.

While running I try to say to myself at least once "you're doing it!!" so I can really appreciate the fact that I made it past the first step - getting into my workout gear and onto the road. Other mantras I use are: 'you can do it!' 'you've done it before!' 'not much farther'. I also try to make myself smile when running feels really difficult. It may sound silly but it helps. And if someone sees you smiling and running, then they will know that you are having a great time, and maybe you will motivate them to run too!